A quick quote for this December morning...

via: Kate Spade

A note from Kate Spade

Agree   OR   Disagree?

via: Kate Spade Web Page

Thanksgiving 2011

Mother brought some treats from Kate Spade in Portland!

I've been after these flowers from Kate Spade.  

They only give them out at the stores and my lovely Mother

just happened to bring them! Hooray. 

Also this week, Kate Spade opened in Memphis!

Christmas decorations are up! 

Look how lovely this vignette is. 

As seen in Le Fleur in Memphis.

 The Dinner Table! 

Dinner Time!

My sweet Mother and Father, married 44 years! 

Mom and I before lunch began.

There is so much to be thankful for this year:

Our health

Our family

Our friends

Our amazing jobs! 

Our home

HANDSOME

I could go on and on....

And let the people say, AMEN. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you!

Craigslist...November 2011 Edition

I'm back at it...you guessed it...CRAIGSLIST!
I can't help myself, it's a sickness. 

The good news is I can diagnose myself.
I'm a mess. The end. 

I "shop" on Craigslist approximately 1-2 times per week.  

The yummy goodness to my wild eye this week includes the following:

 This pretty girl is totally in need of some love. 

Yes I know I already have 2 Queen Anne sofas,

but wouldn't the 3rd be the "charm"? 

P.S. she's only $80.00

 $75 and this tall drink of water is all yours!

Wouldn't this little lady be beautiful recovered? 

Her lines are wonderful. 

To tell you the truth she isn't bad as she sits now!

Now for the Craigslist gold ribbon this week....

Be still my heart, these are beautiful.  I know, I know...you're thinking..."What in the world Hilary, those are RIDICULOUS!" I can just hear a certain number of you, or better yet see your eye rolls! 

Quite seriously, wouldn't these be beautiful if they were painted and recovered? What a great shape. I'm totally jive on these 2 pretty ladies. 

What do you think? 

Do you see the potential in these pieces, or are they just junk?

photos: via craigslist

Real Estate Post.

This week has been a frenzy with real estate postings.  

You can read a bit about what I'm referring to here.

I loved reading these various posts and now would like to add 

my own real estate post to the blog-o-sphere. 

I give you my own house: FOR SALE

MSL#3234308, Memphis, TN

Below, a sampling of photos taken for the listing. 

Exterior: 1927 

Complete renovation in 2006-2007

Fireplace in the living room, Plaster and concrete

The living room features artisan plaster molding 

along with 3 sets of French doors. 

The sunroom at night.

Just off the living room. 

Ground floor hallway.

Dining room

Butler's pantry, just between the kitchen and dining rooms. 

Kitchen renovated in 2006. 

Gas stove, stainless steel appliances. 

Bedroom (or in our case the den). 

There are 2 bedrooms on the ground floor. 

We currently have one of them in use as our den. 

Stairwell looking down from the master.

Vanity in the master suite. 

Featuring a carrera marble vanity top. 

Master bedroom. 

Master suite includes a walk in closet/dressing room. 

3 piece bathroom, and a separate hallway closet. 

Our home was listed 1 week ago today and we have have had some bites (showings). 

We look forward to the future and the possibility of another home in Memphis. 

P.S. SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

Daniel Pafford Awesomness

Have you heard of Daniel Pafford? 

Until about 20 minutes ago, I had not.  Shame on me. 

Below are a couple of photos from projects he has designed. 

What I like about this room:

1. Wall Color

2. How soft these long, lux curtains look against the wall color

3. The giant fiddle leaf fig tree in this room.  I bought one about a month ago, 

I hope it can grow to be this big someday. 

4. Zebra rug. Totally great way to bring some zing/zap in the room full of traditional pieces

5. How about that fire place? Pretty great remix for this old lovely, native to the room piece. 

6. The scale of the mirror and mantel in relationship to the size 

of the windows and the sofa on the opposite wall. 

7. The pieces of furniture in this room: just the right number of seating options. 

Not only are they traditional pieces, which I love, 

but they are covered beautifully in new and modern fabrics. 

Things I like about this room:

1. LOVE the rug. It's gigantic.  It must have cost a fortune. 

After being on the hunt for a really fine 9x12 rug I 

shutter to think what this beauty set them back. 

2. Color palate of the room. The mixture of fabrics, paint, window dressing is fabuslous.

Velvet can really suck up the space in the room, 

the scale of these pieces in relationship to the size of the room really

promotes not only a lovely flow, but also a "suck free" zone. 

(that probably doesn't sound right). 

3. LOVE THE MIRROR.

Check out more about this designer here. 

What's your name again?

After 6 years of marriage, I am willing to make a bit more of a "transition" into being called Mrs. Ward. As in just now...6 years later!  Sheesh!

It's nothing to do with my darling husband's last name...In fact I'm so thankful that it is Ward and not something, WEIRD. I have a few friends who have married guys with names that they themselves file under "WEIRD" and thusly do not take the name.  Yikes.

Now back to me and my not so weird married last name...As I was saying I'm just now warming up to the idea of fully being Hilary Ward. At School (undergrad) we got married during my last year, so I was still Dow to many of my classmates because I had come to school being Hilary Dow.  This past degree after moving to Memphis (seminary), I was Hilary Dow-Ward, and in my most previous job I too was Hilary Dow-Ward.  In my current job, because it is difficult for little kids to say two names, I threw in the towel and said my name was Mrs. Ward.  It was like vinegar. And honestly, for a while I didn't know who folks were talking about or referring to when they would shout out "Mrs. Ward"....Whoops, oh yeah...that's me! (delayed response...sort of funny)

As I'm beginning another degree program, I enrolled under Hilary Ward. The very worst part of this whole situation is that I've gone from being at the front of the roll call to being the last! And as I'm tying this I'm laying hysterically because for some reason that seems like such a big adjustment. But I suppose if that's the very worst thing...I'll learn to deal.

Today I was reading Dream Book Design and found that she had some interesting questions listed about herself. If you follow her link, you will see that she shared these questions from yet another blogger.  It's fun how things get "blogged around". I thought it would be fun to answer them about myself.  So...here they are!

A. age :: twenty. eight and 3/4ths

B. bed size :: king.

C. chore you hate :: folding laundry

D. dogs :: NO DOGS...just sweet Handsome the CAT

E. essential start to your day :: brushing my teeth and washing my face. 

We refer to it as "brush and wash" at our house. 

F. favorite color :: Black and/or White It will never go out of style, 

nor have I ever felt regret from any clothes I've worn in these colors. 

G. gold or silver :: depends, is it on jewelry or home decor? 

H. height :: five.feet.nine 

I. instruments you play :: piano, singing, played saxophone and viola until I went to college.

J. job title :: life long student, music teacher, Mrs. Ward, and Handsome's Mom. 

K. kids :: none...as in...NONE

L. live :: Memphis, Tn, originally from Eureka, Kansas

M. maiden name :: DOW, sniffle I miss it. Do you think I could get folks to call 

me Hilary Dow as my first name? I'm in the South, isn't it okay to have two first names? 

N. nicknames :: None of your beeswax!

O. overnight hospital stays :: NONE and hope to keep it that way. 

P. pet peeve :: trash/junk, laziness, excuses

Q. quote ::  

At the center of the universe is a loving heart that continues to beat and that wants the best for every person.  Anything we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job.  Those of us who have this particular vision must continue against all odds. Life is for service.

mister rogers neighborhood - fred rogers - 1928-2003 

R. righty or lefty :: right

S. siblings :: one older brother, Patrick

T. time you wake up :: Usually around 6:45am

U. university attended :: University of Kansas, Memphis Theological Seminary, Union University

V. vegetables you dislike: jalapenos, rhubarb

W. what makes you run late :: Not getting up when the alarm goes off (the first-third times)

X. x-rays you’ve had :: hmm, I don't think I've had any. 

Y. yummy food :: French Cuisine. Steak Frites, French Onion Soup, Risotto

Z. zoo animal favorite :: The CATS, any of them, they're all precious

Well kids, I'm headed to choir. Where I will happily greet my folder that says, Hilary Ward.  

As in the Hilary Ward who is now at the end of the line. (ha)

More soon...we have some exciting things going on over her at our house! 
Post to follow. 

Tuesday afternoon

This week has been interesting. Good work, good study, a little bit of "home work" and "homework".

I'm still trying to figure out my bangs. As it were, I have a bit of a callick. 

That's not so good when you're trying to get your bangs to lay straight. 

Handsome is up to his regular "things". 

And he always looks cute doing it. 

Naps.

Eating.

Etc. 

I'm just wild over this Kate Spade Clutch. 

I'm a piano teacher...come on! 

Shouldn't ever piano teacher just get one of these...

like...for free!!?!?!?

I think so. 

Today is the last day of the first quarter. 

You know what that means? 

Final exam today. 

Next week...a new class begins. 

the past two weeks...according to Instagram

While I love reading other people's blogs...sometimes I "forget" to post on my own. 

In no particular order...here is what's up with me and the hubs and the kitty for the past 2 weeks.

I went to a make up event at Joseph in Memphis....

I immediately came home and played with my toys. 

I ordered the French 75 so much at Cafe 1912, they finally put it on the regular menu. 

My fall supply of lipstick, love Trish  McEvoy.

On October 1, the hubs and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. 

On September 30 I got bangs. Yikes. 

Anniversary dinner at Folks Folly. 

I opted for the Lobster Tail. 

Handsome loves to hang out in the window. 

He won't come down. 

Flowers from anniversary weekend. 

Anniversary cupcakes.

Remember that Kate Spade Look Di Loop Necklace I wanted...

Guess what...I got it for our anniversary. 

Handsome has opinions...no surprise there. 

Anniversary necklace and bangs.  

Hoot...Hoot

The soda machines at school now have bottles of orange crush. 

How retro. 

Long story short....glad I took pictures. 

inspirational

Le Weekend

Handsome wants to know if you've had a good weekend.

I've been contemplating a new hair do...

How do we feel about bangs? 

I'm considering it. 

I spent some time this weekend playing with my big girl toys. 

My freshly painted chairs have been put back in place. 

I love it! How in the world did I get so lucky to find them? 

Thank you Craigslist "Gods".

Handsome and I taught lessons on Sunday afternoon. 

Handsome is my VP of operations/security.

The students love him. 

After church this morning (at St. John's Episcopal Church)

 the children had a lemonade stand.  It was so precious. 

The Emmy's are on tonight.  

Perhaps a rich beef stew will be cooked in honor of the program. 

Hmmm, perhaps to the store we shall go. 

Did you have a good weekend?